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City pursues SIDs to pave unfinished streets

Chad C. Knudson

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Jamie Ausk Crisafulli photo

Sunset Avenue is one of four streets that may be paved if property owners agree to the formation of special improvement districts. Sunset has gone unfinished for decades, while three other streets are in the more recently developed north Glendive area.

The Glendive City Council approved three resolutions aimed at paving unfinished city streets Tuesday.

The resolutions to create special improvement districts to address paving on Colorado, Sunset, Washington and Wyoming are the official launch of a process that will culminate with paving next year if the projects successfully move forward.

The first SID would involve Colorado Boulevard to the east of Merrill Avenue and a portion of Washington Drive connecting to Colorado. The plan calls for paving 1,522 feet of Colorado and 466 feet of Washington at a total cost $488,774.

On Sept. 27, Dawson County agreed to share the costs of paving the portions of the streets owned by the city and the county. Other landowners affected include the State of Montana by way of the Eastern Montana Veterans Home.

According to the resolution, the city and county portion of the project is approximately $250,000, while the state’s share would be $177,000. Other property owners would pay the balance.

The SID for Wyoming Avenue would pave 825 feet between Colorado and where the existing pavement ends to the south.

The cost of the Wyoming project is estimated at about $214,000.

The city lists 25 property owners who would be affected by the project. However, Director of Operations Kevin Dorwart said Wyoming is more complicated because of the condominiums located along the street.

“The homeowners association will have an internal vote and then the association chooses whether or not to protest as one unit,” he said.

The final SID would address a portion of Sunset Avenue in the Hillcrest neighborhood, which has gone unpaved for decades.

Dorwart said because of the difficult soils in that area, the cost to pave 393 feet is estimated at $207,000. There are eight properties that would be affected by the Sunset SID.

The price includes removal and replacement of the subsoils based on the geotech testing conducted earlier this year in conjunction with the city’s curb and gutter project, according to Dorwart.

If all three SIDs move forward, costs to each affected property owner will be reduced, because the contractors who bid the projects have offered discounts for completing multiple projects.

“There’s also a five percent contingency added to the estimates, so the final costs could easily be lower than the initial estimates,” Dorwart said.

All property owners involved will be notified by the city and will have until Oct. 24 to officially protest.

If the owners of more than 50 percent of the footage involved protest, the SID will not be created.

For example, an owner with 100 feet of street front would count twice as much as an owner with just 50 feet.

This means that while there are 14 properties affected by the Colorado/Washington project, the project is likely to move forward because the city and county own more than 50 percent of the project, and have already agreed to split the cost and move forward.

More information on the projects will be published in the public notices of the Ranger-Review on Oct. 7 and Oct. 14.